Posts Tagged ‘Nadia Matar’

On Sunday afternoon residents of the communities of Eastern Gush Etzion along with members from Women in Green met at the ‘T’ intersection east of the Gush Etzion cluster, between Mezad and Ma’ale Amos on one side and Tekoa and Nokdim on the other, for a vigil following the shooting by Arab terrorists at a resident’s car the night before.

The organizers of the protest, Women in Green’s Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, together with Michael Luria of the Pnei Kedem community, noted that last night’s shooting incident ended miraculously, since only the driver’s leg was injured when terrorists shot at his car, while his wife and their six children, including a one-week-old infant, were also in the vehicle.

Deputy Head of the Gush Etzion Council Moshe Savil called for an end to the policy of “containing” terror incidents and for the implementation of full security for the residents of the area in all of the main roads.

Brigade commander of the area, Col. (Res.) Roman Gofman, also came to the site and heard from representatives of Women in Green that it was exactly in that place, about two years ago, there had been a protest vigil for several weeks, which ended after protesters were promised cellular reception in the area to assure the security forces’ quick and effective response, a regular transport station and a manned pillbox, all of which were supposed to offer a message of security to travelers in the area.

The protesters complained to the brigade commander that since that promise was made, there has been no actual change. There still is no cellular reception, a transportation station has not been set up and there is no pillbox. Their demand, they explained to the brigade commander, is now even sharper and more emphatic because of the recurring terror attacks in the area and in the traffic routes around the intersection.

With a stirring ceremony in the presence of family members of the abducted three youths taken by Hamas murderers in July 2014, the Head of Gush Etzion Council Davidi Perl and thousands of local residents celebrated their memory at the Oz v’Gaon Nature Preserve on the hill above Gush Etzion Junction in Judea. The nature preserve was established in the memory of the three youths.

The event, conducted by Women in Green, which launched the preserve project and has been running it as a site for education, tourism and camping, was opened by Yehudit Katsover, one of the heads of the movement, with the story of how the decision was made to go up to the preserve on the very night in which the bodies of the abducted youths were found. Katsover told the audience that this is the way of Zionism: development and growth emerge out of pain. But she added that “it could also be otherwise; we could and should cut off the enemy’s hope by applying Israeli sovereignty” in Area C of Judea and Samaria (to start, at least).

Oz v’Gaon

“Without the backing of the people, the parents, the council, the IDF and the various other bodies this would not have succeeded, and this is why we came to say Thank you,” said Nadia Matar, Katsover’s partner in leading the movement. Matar listed the activists and donors who contributed to the event as well as to the two-year-old nature preserve.

Katsover gave the family members of the youths a memento, symbolizing the preserve – a small JNF bench with a dedication.

Uri Yifrach, father of Eyal, Hy”d, read aloud words that Eyal wrote just a few days before he was abducted and murdered, in which he related to the value of having difficulties and pain on the way to achieving a goal. “The path is the value, and without the path, you will not arrive at the destination,” Eyal wrote. “We would be glad to do without the path, and get to the goal, but God put us on the path. We must understand that if the path takes time, this is the will of God. The path will exact casualties, it is difficult and grueling but it takes us closer to the goal. Every step on the path creates life, and when you are on the path, give it your all, take advantage of every moment of your life as if it were your last.”

Bat Galim Shaer, mother of Gil-Ad, spoke of the poem “My life is in your blood” that was heard at the event, and “became for us a daily reality, from the pain and bereavement we strive to grow towards life and activity, and Yehudit and Nadia are examples for us.”

She went on, emphasizing the uniqueness of Oz v’Gaon as a place of daily and continued activity and not a one-time memory or event, “a living, growing and breathing place every single day.”

Oz v’Gaon

Raheli Frenkel, mother of Naftali, Hy”d, drew a parallel with the murder of Hallel Ariel, Hy”d, on Thursday in Kiryat Arba. “We woke up in the morning and the only thing we wanted to do was to embrace the Ariel family and the memory of Hallel, our lost princess. I heard Rina cry, ‘My life is in your blood,’ and this morning became a song in praise of life for those who choose to live here, of the joy that fills this place with energy, with wonderful youth and with visitors who come from all over the world.”

Frenkel expressed the hope that the Jewish youths of the area and throughout Israel will continue to stream to the preserve, to be joyful and complete the dreams for summer vacation that Hallel Ariel, Hy”d, had, dreams that were not fulfilled.

Davidi Perl drew a connection between the weekly Torah portion of Korah, and the growth and renewal that are apparent to all those who come to the preserve. Perl mentioned the saying about the prophet Samuel, who was a descendant of Korah’s offspring who did not die. “From the pit arose the flowering of prophecy, renewal and the prayer of [Samuel’s mother] Hanna,” he said.

Oz v’Gaon

“Two years ago, a deep chasm opened with the murder of the three youths and we all fell together into the abyss,” Perl said, adding that “with the spirit of Oz v’Gaon this place was born anew. A call went out from here for a renewal of growth, a flowering of life with great depth on the crossroads between Jerusalem and Hebron. In the place that symbolizes this connection we have put down deep roots, two years of yearning and challenges in which we have lost other victims, two years in which the junction became a symbol of heroism and determination, of the people saying that we will stand for our rights and for our demand for full sovereignty over all of the Land of Israel, as our right and not as a gift of kindness.”

The event concluded with a walk to the observation point overlooking Gush Etzion Junction, which had undergone renovation and new artistic decoration in recent weeks. In the presence of the Head of the Local Council, the recently improved path connecting the junction to the nature preserve was dedicated. After words of blessing and thanks, the ribbon at the path was cut and hundreds of blue balloons were released into the air.

The members of Women in Green, together with residents of the Gush Etzion settlements block, have set out, as part of the “Revitalizing Gush Etzion Junction” project, to renovate and restore the Gush Etzion Junction. The junction has been marked by violent incidents in recent months, as a focal point for terror attacks, and marred by attempts to secure pedestrians against ramming attacks by Arab terrorists. Now Jewish activists have begun to apply a new, more inviting look to the place.

Welcome to Gush Etzion sign. Photo credit: Gershon Ellinson

The activists and residents together with youth from the surrounding area decorated the path that goes up to Oz veGaon, overlooking the Junction, with decorative plants and natural rocks from the area; a “Welcome to Gush Etzion” sign was placed on the slope toward the nearby nature preserve; and the Gush Etzion Council planted an oak tree of about a hundred years in the center of the circle.

Photo credit: Women in Green

The project has won warm support from the military commanders of the area.

“We took on this initiative with the understanding that normal life, which is what we aspire for here, cannot exist if we feel that we are living in a bunker and in an atmosphere of having to defend ourselves. The square at the Junction is actually the calling card that welcomes those who come to the entrance of Gush Etzion, Israelis as well as tourists, and the appearance of the concrete barriers is not a welcoming sight,” said the heads of Women in Green, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar.

Photo credit: Women in Green

Katsover and Matar praised the youths from the communities of the Gush and Judean Hills who joined the activists in dedicating long work days renovating and improving the face of the Gush Etzion Junction. The two women also noted the artistic contribution of the students and teachers from the Art Department of Neve Hanah and Oriah Schools, who painted the concrete protection barriers scattered throughout the bus stops, hitchhiking spots and guard posts at the junction. “We were able to do all of this thanks to donations from Jews in Israel and abroad, and among them our friends, the members of AFSI,” the two women added.

Photo credit: Women in Green

This Friday, July 1, will mark two years since the founding of Oz veGaon, the nature preserve established in memory of three youths who were abducted by Hamas terrorists, an attack that resulted in the 2014 Gaza war. The date will be commemorated with a family happening, a musical appearance and attractions, attended by the head of Gush Etzion Council Davidi Perl and members of the abducted youths’ families.

Photo credit: Women in Green

“At the event we will salute the residents, our wonderful youth, IDF soldiers and their commanders, businesses at Gush Etzion Junction, the many visitors who make Oz veGaon a bustling, lively place and the hitchhikers who maintain the blessed routine of life,” Katsover and Matar said.

On Saturday night, the evening of the fast of Tisha b’Av, thousands of participants carrying Israeli flags walked around the walls of Jerusalem calling for application and enforcement of sovereignty as a rectification for the historical sin of the spies, the sin that caused the destruction of the Temple and a series of disasters over the generations.

Thousands of people, from all areas throughout the land, took part tonight, the evening of the fast of Tisha b‘Av, in the walk around the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, organized by Women in Green, for the 21st consecutive year.

The event began with a reading of the Scroll of Lamentations in Gan Ha’Atzma’ut (Independence Park), which is in the center of the capital, and the walk around the walls of the Old City began immediately afterward, with the many participants holding Israeli flags. The historian Aryeh Klein accompanied the walk with words of historical explanation about the events from the Crusader era until the Six Day War that were by passed during the walk.

At the Lion’s Gate the participants gathered for concluding words and speeches by Deputy Minister of Defense Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, MK Bezalel Smotrich, Prof. Aryeh Eldad and Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich. Before the speeches by these public figures, the heads of Women in Green, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, spoke, calling for making a rectification of the sin of the spies by application and enforcement of sovereignty over the entire Land of Israel: “The principal sin that we must rectify is the sin of the spies – contempt for the goodly Land. We must not only lie on the floor and and lament tearfully, but rectify the root of the reason for the destruction in a practical way, to settle the good Land, to cling to it, to apply our sovereignty, to enforce our sovereignty and to have faith in the Almighty who gave us the power to conquer the Land.”

“Realization of sovereignty by the government of Israel with a continuous push for consciousness has its results. The prime minister acted correctly in the Iranian matter. He should act with the same determination and persistence in the matters of building, development, flourishing in all areas of the Land of Israel. To present a vision. Neither Obama nor the High Court, which is pushing these days for the destruction of dozens of homes in Beit El, will dictate the borders to the People of Israel and therefore we strongly protest and encourage all of our friends who are organizing for the determined and uncompromising battle in the sector.

“It is the Bible that will dictate to the People of Israel, the promise that the Almighty gave to our fathers, and we must fast for this and connect with all of the generations. Remembering the past and building the future. ‘Let us go up and take possession of the Land, for we are well able to overcome it’.”

After these words, Deputy Minister of Defense, MK Rav Eli Ben Dahan spoke, mentioning the sin of the spies, about which we read in the weekly Torah portion as the sin that caused the weeping and grief of generations, of the destruction of the two Temples, a grieving whose root is contempt for the good Land.

“The spies thought that it was better to remain in an ideal world, a world of inaction, where manna waited at the tent opening and water from Miriam’s well came to you. Without any effort. But in order to enter the Land of Israel it would be necessary to labor and to be connected to every clod of land. We do not live by miracles, but by deeds and activity. The more we build in all areas of the Land of Israel, the more we will connect and commune with the Land”, said Rabbi Ben Dahan.

Later, he mentioned that while he was Deputy Minister of Religions, regulations were prepared for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. “Particularly on this day we demand that these regulations be approved. We expect the prime minister and the government to approve organized Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. I cannot be that every people can pray at this place and only the Jews are not permitted to pray there.”

Ben Dahan further noted that recently he was informed that from an investigation of the findings from the waste out of the antiquities that the Muslims throw into the Zurim Valley after they were taken from the Temple Mount, it arose that among the antiquities there are also bones of pure beasts that had been sacrificed on the Mount, but also bones of foxes and this testifies that the legend of Rabbi Akiva and the sages who went and saw a fox coming out of the Holy Temple is not a random legend, but actual reality. Now, the deputy minister of defense expresses the hope that just as we see the visions of Rabbi Akiva, “we will also be privileged to see the Holy Temple being rebuilt, and next year we will no longer grieve and these days will become days of much happiness and joy.”

After Rabbi Ben Dahan’s words, former MK Prof. Aryeh Eldad spoke, noting that it seems that apparently, we have not made much progress during the past year, “we did not expel the rioting Arabs from the Mount, we did not establish the communities that we destroyed ten years ago.”

“The State of Israel surrenders its sovereignty on the Temple Mount and abandons it to a foreign state”, said Eldad and mentioned that the State of Israel also did not complete the access bridge to the Temple Mount, since it had granted to Jordan the privilege to decide what will be built on the Mount and what will not be built there. According to him, while the Temple Mount Faithful are searching for a red heifer in Texas ranches for the rites of purification, we must remember that it is more important to purify hearts, and when the Mount does not represent the source of life to the People and when the leaders of Israel deny and suppress the importance of the Temple Mount to the People’s consciousness, the ashes from a red heifer will be to no avail.

During his speech, Prof. Eldad noted the historical findings in which national figureheads who had persecuted Israel have stated as absolute fact that there was no longer a People of Israel, but today, while nothing remains of them but historical remnants, the People of Israel lives on. Eldad stated that just as these predictions were disproved, other, early predictions will also be disproved – the People of Israel will establish settlements that it himself destroyed a decade ago, and this is also how the Third Temple will be built, and sooner than we think. “We demand that the government of Israel allow Jews to pray and to lay the cornerstone of the Third Temple”, concluded Prof. Eldad.

The third person to speak at the gathering was MK Bezalel Smotrich, who raised the apparent difficulty to experience the pain of the destruction in the generation of revival, when it is possible “to walk around the walls of Jerusalem en masse with Israeli flags, accompanied by our police, in our state, in our Land, and on the other hand, to look upon the walls and inside to the Temple Mount and remember what is happening there.”

MK Bezalel Smotrich

“It would be easier to experience the sorrow of this day in the diaspora”, said Smotrich, and clarified that if the day of Tisha b’Av was commemorated as it is in the diaspora, without thinking of the return of Israel to its Land, it would be an enormous lack of gratitude toward the Almighty, who brings us, slowly but surely to our Land. We must be ready to include this complexity of thanks to the Almighty for the great kindness with which he deals with us, and despite this, we feel the great lack of that which we do not have.”

According to him, “from a certain point of view, perhaps it is easier for us today to feel the pain of this day, because we are closer and therefore feel the lack. A Jew in the diaspora could not have imagined what we have now. It is difficult to imagine something that one does is not familiar with. When one is close, one feels the lack.”

Smotrich also mentioned the sin of the spies and noted that in the words of Moses’ summary, the words of the spies are described as praising the goodness of the Land. Rashi explains that Moses is quoting Joshua and Caleb and not the ten other spies. According to Smotrich, there is a significant lesson here, which is the question of “who is written in the pages of history”: “that which is written in the pages of history and are spoken about in the future are Joshua and Caleb, the People of Truth, heroism, security and their faith in the Almighty. The weakness of the spies leads to ramifications and the basis for every Tisha b’Av is those spies, but that which remains in existence forever is the minority. The masses sometimes go astray after weak leadership”, says Smotrich, and adds that sometimes the leaders of the minority of believers do not win applause from the media and from the masses, but in the result in history is that they are the winners who are etched into eternity.

“I call on the prime minister: you can decide whether to be among those leaders who perhaps now are a majority but in the end, nothing will be remembered of them, or you can be among the leaders of the minority, who raise the banner to the top of the flag post, and who are among those who are remembered. Prayer in the Temple Mount is the minimum. We have a commandment to build the Temple. The Almighty has done his part and has liberated for us the place with tremendous miracles. Now it is in our hands. And as everyone aspires to fulfill the 613 commandments, we must also fulfill this commandment”, concluded Smotrich.

The gathering was concluded with the words of Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich, a former prisoner of Zion and one of the lead activists for the liberation of Jonathan Pollard. As in every year, Rabbi Mendelevich read the special prayer written by Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu, obm, for the liberation of Pollard and stated that if indeed Pollard will be freed in the coming days and weeks, then Israeli society must beg his pardon for not doing enough to free him. “We did not do what we had to do. We went astray in the battle for Jonathan because all of the efforts were in beseeching the government of Israel to speak with the government of the United States. The battle should have been waged in the United States. As the People of Israel we must fight and understand from experience of the past that only demonstrations that are bothersome, and not comfortable, for the government, have an effect”.

Rabbi Mendelevich concluded his words with a call to the Jews of the United States: “We will get by, but the call is to you. Go out into the streets in your thousands, in tens of thousands, to defend our People, our Land and yourselves. This is your duty”.

At the end of the speeches the marchers continued to the Dung Gate and the Kotel where the Walk ended.

In Giv’at Oz veGa’on in Gush Etzion, celebrations were held for Simchat Beit HaShoeva.

Friday a Simchat Beit HaShoeva event was held at Giv’at Oz veGa’on, next to Gush Etzion Junction. This hilltop site was established by Women in Green in memory of the three youths who were abducted, Gil-Ad, Ayal and Naftali (Ga’on).

Col. Yamin blessed the hundreds of celebrants who arrived in their masses, from all areas of the Land and he remarked on the uniqueness of the holiday of Sukkot, which expresses the “joy in humility and the joy in austerity”. Relating to the military’s and his personal coping with the event of the abduction of the youths he said: “the previous (Jewish) year ended with closing a circle that was important for the entire People of Israel. We brought the vile murderers to account. This was a task of primary importance for us. We did not rest, and we worked with all of the security forces and intelligence bodies until we entrapped them”.

Col. Yamin told of how “approximately four months ago I woke up and understood that we are in the midst of a military operation with national significance. As the hours passed we were shocked to see the dimensions of the event and during 18 days we labored energetically with all of the combined forces. Unfortunately we found them lifeless and this caused us the bitter feeling that we had lost”, said Yamin, but immediately continued, describing the empowerment that he felt from the families of the abducted, especially in the difficult and emotional days. Yamin told of the most significant sentence that he heard from Avi, the father of Naftali, HY”D, during the week. “Avi told me ‘you have brought us back to life’. I did not understand what he meant and he explained that he said that ‘if we had had to continue in that same situation without knowing for sure and with the sense of lack of clarity, it is hard for me to say how we could have coped with it. Now we have brought them to a grave among the People of Israel and we know how to continue from here’”.

“The three families were, for us, a source of strength and a model that gave us the ability to continue in the task of defending the citizens of Israel along with the efforts to entrap the abductors. We came to a level of solidarity and a unity that will stay with us for a long time. It was from this solidarity that the IDF and the entire nation entered Operation Protective Edge. The spirit that blew into the sails of the war effort is what brought it to its successes, and led the troops to the places and achievements that we reached”, said Yamin and remarked that this is the proof of the living link between the army and the People. “There is a tremendous sense of togetherness, a sense of great joy, of removing any doubts on a broad national level”.

Immediately after Col. Yamin’s words, as he was leaving the site to do other tasks in defense of the sector, “in order to continue to enable everyone to be here and travel here in safety”, in his words, Racheli Frenkel spoke, eager to express her appreciation and admiration for the fighters of the IDF and its commanders, as well as Col. Yamin, personally. About his words regarding the importance of humility, Frenkel explained that this is what was required of the commanders during the days of the search for the three youths, “humble enough to be able to hear others, to consult and act in order to find the boys”.

Economics Minister and Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett praised the government today (Monday, Sept. 1) during a visit to Gush Etzion for its decision to answer terror with Jewish expansion.

Bennett visited Yeshiva Mekor Chaim in Gush Etzion on the first day of Israel’s school year Monday. The yeshiva, located in Kfar Etzion, was attended by two of the three teens martyred by Hamas terrorists this past June.

“Until a couple of months ago, you students here at Mekor Chaim were regular students. Today you are the spearhead. You now bear extra weight upon your shoulders, the “mekor chaim” – the source of life ‘’ of Israel,” he told the students.

“Yesterday the government made two decisions – one which builds up and strengthens the Gaza frontier, and the second which builds up and strengthens Gush Etzion,” he added.

Bennett praised the government’s decision yesterday to designate a tract of land near Alon Shevut, not far from the yeshiva, as state land. The lot is located close to the bus stop and hitchhiking post from where the three teens were kidnapped and subsequently murdered.

“What we did yesterday was an act of Zionism,” Bennett explained as he toured the area. “Building is our reply to murder.”

“The Defense Minister has allocated 4,000 dunams for the city of Geva’ot – congratulations! We hope that this is indicative of additional positive steps in the future, not only as a reaction to the murder of Jews but as a policy – but the high tones of protest from America, the world, the left, and the Arabs reveal the depth of the problem of Judea and Samaria.

“If the government of Israel does not apply sovereignty to the expanses of Eretz Israel, this question will remain open to negotiations and endless disputes. Israeli Sovereignty must be applied, and realized by the state maintaining law and order for all its citizens – including the Beduin, the Arabs, and others. The time has come to initiate and once and for all apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley,” they said.

Israelis heard the news early Monday morning, June 30. The search was over. Yes, the search was over, but the boys were dead.

The response throughout the land was palpable: the air of hope and unity was punctured, replaced by raw anguish.

But by 2:00 the following morning, some Israeli women responded by taking action. Their action was not one of vigilantism, nor was it to raise their fists at the intractable enemy.

Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, the indefatibable Women in Green, along with a group of supporters, went to a lovely little hill just off from the Gush Etzion Junction – the site of such despair – and began clearing the area.

Since July 1, Kassover and Matar have been joined by dozens and dozens of Israelis and of visitors. They are reclaiming a bit of land that has been set aside (the site has long had official approval for tourism development), and are developing it as a functioning and vibrant tourist site.

They also renamed the hill. Previously the site was known as Givat Oz (Hill of Strength). The new name incorporates the initials of the three boys who were kidnapped and murdered – Gilad, Eyal and Naftali – and the acronym created also happens to mean great wisdom. The site is now known as Givat Oz v’Gaon.

Nadia Matar, that steadfast soldier in the war to reclaim the land, spoke with The Jewish Press about the new site.

“This is a Zionist response of the Jewish people to the incomprehensible act of killing our boys,” Matar said. “Our enemies think they will scare us away with their acts of terrorism, but they are wrong. We cling to the land ever more strongly in response to their efforts.”

The area is being cleared by hand. People show up on a daily basis to help move the rocks, clean the lone remaining stone building, and set up picnic tables for meals and chairs for lectures and services.

people came to help clear the land at Givat Oz v’Gaon.

“This will be a camping site,” Matar says. “This past weekend, the first of Givat Oz v’Gaon, we had already 70 or 80 people who brought tents to spend Shabbat here. The residents of the nearby kibbutz Migdal Oz came to join us for seudat shlishit (a meal before evening services) and swelled the crowd to between 200 and 300 people.”

The residents of Migdal Oz came by a road that connects the back of the kibbutz to the Gush Etzion junction. This is also significant, Matar explains, because for quite a long time the kibbutzniks did not use the road as there had been frequent attacks by Arabs from nearby towns.

“Now, with a strong Jewish presence between the kibbutz and the Gush junction, this road is also being ‘reclaimed’ as our response to terrorism,” Matar shared with a sense of satisfaction.

Ruthie Lieberman lives in nearby Alon Shvut. Her home was used by people who participated in the searches for the boys; she and her family lived through it with great intensity.

“The families got up from shiva yesterday,” Lieberman said. “And I found myself on this site today, helping to clear the land, to plant new trees – the ultimate act of positive Zionism.”

Lieberman and her daughter, Merav, planted one of the three trees planted in memory of the three boys.

Ruth Lieberman and her daughter, Merav, plant a tree in Eyal Yifrach’s memory at the new site created to honor the boys, Givat Oz v’Gaon.